1 Kings 4

So king Solomon was king over all Israel.

1So Solomon was king over all the land of Israel.

2And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest,

2These were his top leaders. Azariah, the son of Zadok, was the priest.

3Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder.

3Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, were scribes, men who wrote things down. Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, kept the records of what happened.

4And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:

4Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, led the army. Zadok and Abiathar were priests, men who led the worship of God.

5And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king’s friend:

5Azariah, the son of Nathan, was in charge of the officers. Zabud, the son of Nathan, was a chief officer and the king's friend.

6And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute.

6Ahishar took care of the king's house. Adoniram, the son of Abda, was in charge of the workers.

Note"Tribute" here does not mean money. It means the work people were made to do for the king.

7And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision.

7Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel. They brought food for the king and everyone in his house. Each officer brought the food for one month of the year.

8And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim:

8These are their names. The son of Hur worked in the hill country of Ephraim.

9The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan:

9The son of Dekar worked in Makaz, Shaalbim, Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan.

10The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:

10The son of Hesed worked in Aruboth. Sochoh and all the land of Hepher were his too.

11The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife:

11The son of Abinadab worked in the whole area of Dor. He was married to Taphath, one of Solomon's daughters.

12Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam:

12Baana, the son of Ahilud, had Taanach and Megiddo. He also had all of Bethshean, near Zartanah, below Jezreel. His land ran from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, and on past Jokneam.

13The son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars:

13The son of Geber worked in Ramothgilead. The towns of Jair, the son of Manasseh, in Gilead were his. So was the area of Argob in Bashan. It had sixty big cities with walls and gates barred with bronze.

14Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim:

14Ahinadab, the son of Iddo, worked in Mahanaim.

15Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife:

15Ahimaaz worked in Naphtali. He was married to Basmath, one of Solomon's daughters.

16Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth:

16Baanah, the son of Hushai, worked in Asher and in Aloth.

17Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar:

17Jehoshaphat, the son of Paruah, worked in Issachar.

18Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:

18Shimei, the son of Elah, worked in Benjamin.

19Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.

19Geber, the son of Uri, worked in the land of Gilead. That land once belonged to Sihon, king of the Amorites, and to Og, king of Bashan. He was the only officer in that land.

20Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.

20There were so many people in Judah and Israel. They were like the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy.

21And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.

21Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the great river to the land of the Philistines. His rule reached to the edge of Egypt. Those kingdoms brought him gifts and served him as long as he lived.

Note"The river" means the Euphrates, a very big river far to the northeast.

22And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal,

22Each day the king's house used thirty large measures of fine flour. It also used sixty large measures of regular flour.

NoteA "measure" was a large basket used to hold grain. Each one held a lot.

23Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl.

23Each day they used ten fat cattle and twenty cattle from the fields. They also used a hundred sheep, plus deer and other wild animals and fat birds.

24For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.

24Solomon ruled all the land west of the great river, from Tiphsah to Azzah. He ruled all the kings in that whole area. He had peace on every side.

25And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

25The people of Judah and Israel lived in safety. Each man sat under his own grapevine and his own fig tree. This was true from Dan to Beersheba, all through Solomon's days.

26And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

26Solomon had forty thousand stalls for the horses that pulled his chariots. He also had twelve thousand men who rode horses.

27And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon’s table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing.

27Those officers brought food for King Solomon. They also fed everyone who ate at his table. Each man took his own month, and nothing was ever missing.

28Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

28They also brought barley and straw for the horses. Each man brought his share to the right place.

29And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.

29God gave Solomon great wisdom. He could understand very much and think about very many things. His wisdom was like the sand on the seashore.

30And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.

30Solomon was wiser than all the wise men of the east. He was wiser than all the wise men of Egypt.

31For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.

31He was wiser than anyone. He was wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and wiser than Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. People in all the nations near him heard about him.

32And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.

32He said three thousand wise sayings. He wrote one thousand and five songs.

33And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.

33He talked about trees, from the tall cedar in Lebanon to the small plant growing out of a wall. He also talked about animals, birds, small crawling creatures, and fish.

34And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

34People came from everywhere to hear Solomon's wisdom. Kings all over the earth had heard of him and sent them.